Tugboat related issues, comments, and opinion.

Kayaks, redux.

My last piece was generated from a rant I expressed in my pilothouse on my last trip down the East River heading for an anchorage in New York’s Bay Ridge Anchorage 21B. Generally, my postings originate as rants that are rendered raw and then tempered with a good bit of editing for language and content. I don’t just go off and shoot from the lip. Usually.

Of course, my professional perspective is what I draw on and my opinion is given full sway, it’s my blog after all. But since my last post I’ve had some feedback that puts a neat spin on the ultimate aim of the article. Education, for me as well as others.

A rather brave young woman decided to upbraid me for what she believed were insults to the Kayaking Community. She was right on the money on some points and I give credit where it’s due. She provided a couple of links I had not previously seen and found them to be really thoughtful and comprehensive in their advice on mixing recreational traffic with commercial vessels here in New York.

So in the interest of passing along the lesson of “you’re never too old to learn”, I wanted to recognize these organizations for working to make everyone safer in the pursuit of their particular vision of happiness.

The first one I’d like to share is one that includes enough information to rate as a must read for any recreational boater seeking to play on the waters of New York Harbor, or any busy waterway for that matter.

I Boat NY Harbor The content of this site warms this lil’ old tugboatman’s heart. It’s comprehensive, articulate and clear and I ‘m glad someone has thought to do such a thorough job. Kudos.

Safe Harbor.US Listing educational videos and notices of the events taking place in the harbor and good concise articles relating to interacting and avoiding close encounters with the behemoths that ply the waters of N.Y. Harbor. The video catalog alone is worth a click.

I think it bears mentioning that the State of New York doesn’t recognize paddled craft as “vessels” subject to the rules as we understand them, that’s a big WTF as far as I’m concerned. This story just boggles the mind.

Everyone on the water has to have an understanding as to their responsibility when they take to the water for any reason.

And for now I’ll close with a thank you for the comments I’ve received. Be safe.

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2 Responses

And not all that brave – came that close to taking my comment down but I am glad I didn’t – the more discussions of safe boating practices for recreational boaters are out there for public viewing on the internet, the better, and it’s good to hear it from your point of view.

Good blog, too – spent some time reading through some of your other posts last night – think I’ll be adding you to my blogroll. Looking at yours, I think we have a few mutual friends – and have you left the occasional comment over on the Tugster blog? As we were having this discussion I kept thinking your name looked familiar.